Not being a huge ginger fan, but tolerant (I slugged down and enjoyed many a can of Vernor's soda in the days of drinking sugary fizz), I figured to give this inexpensive and compelling-looking flavor blend a try. Though the title touts ginger and turmeric, there's orange peel and orange oil in this too--enough that it's nearly on par with the ginger on flavor and wet-scent potency, and slightly overpowers the ginger in dry aroma. The smell was very strong and pleasant, and offered hope! Ginger and orange as a flavor combo have promise. Maybe my disappointment with this somehow was related to the turmeric itself, or how it just didn't seem to fit the other ingredients. It's as if turmeric were tossed in because of the hallowed status it has assumed in the micronutrient/antioxidant craze.

Its flavor seemed like a mildly bitter astringent sits in with the orange and ginger, and definitely detracted from what could be a compelling pairing. The aftertaste, however, started unpleasant and grew utterly nasty, more so with every 10-15 seconds elapsed. It was as if the rot of death had erupted in my mouth, accelerated in time. This phenomenon was unique in my tea-drinking experience, and I hope it stays that way.

The aftertaste carries ginger along with it, but also, something rather unpleasantly chemical in tone that I couldn't pin down for several minutes. Then it hit me: not turmeric, but another "tur"--turpentine. Now I am NOT saying that's really in the tea--it legally couldn't be sold then! But that was my impression of the aftertaste and it was somewhat nauseating. I struggled to finish the cup. That's rare. Now I have 19 more bags in the box and looking for someone willing to take them. Otherwise...to the compost pile. How unfortunate.